Within
by LongLiveTheKing39
Summary: After a tragic accident, Sarah Williams is forced to summon an old foe for help. she ventures deeply within herself, and desperately tries to rid herself of resentments to uncover the truth behind the mysterious and sensuous Goblin King, and his Labyrinth.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: In time…**

Eight Years had passed since Sarah Williams had fought to find the goblin kingdom, to get the child which was stolen from her. It had been eight years since her _Dream_.

Toby tiptoed in the kitchen desperately trying not to wake his older sister, whom only returned home from college during the holidays, or when he needed somebody to watch over him, and his babysitter, Millie, couldn't be reached. Toby pushed his hair out of his face with the back of his hand as he cleaned up the mango juice he'd spilled.

Only two rooms away, Sarah woke abruptly from her dreams, with momentary pain as the book she had been reading collapsed on her face. _Well screw you, too._ She smiled, realizing she had just told off a book…in her head.

She took her phone from her pocket in a swift movement to check the time. _It's already past noon_. Sarah had a text from her roommate, Cassie, and about 20 text messages from Hunter, without counting his numerous voice mails. She put her bare feet on the floor; and made her way to the kitchen, a jolt went up her spine when the cold tiles made contact with her.

"Sarah, you're awake!" Toby said frantically."I was just making breakfast for us."

"Us? Tobe, there's only _one_ bowl of cereal on that table, plus, its 1:30, I don't think that _breakfast_ is the word we should be using right now." She said as she wiped off the rest of the sticky residue on the ivory colored floor. Toby smiled and started to speak with his mouth full of fruit loops. "Sarah, remember that you have to take us to the park at two thirty. Oh! And mommy called in the morning, she said that dad and her were gonna come back like at midnight."

Sarah's dad and stepmom had been away for two days, attending Aunt Jennifer's wedding. "Yea I know, that's when they usually come back from trips…and who do you mean by _us,_ you and I?"

Toby slurped the remainders from his superhero plate."Nope, mom gave me permission to invite Walker over, remember?" what he said was true, unfortunely. Toby had met Walker on the first week of kindergarten, and they'd been inseparable ever since. He would stay over at the Williams' house at least once a week for years. He wasn't a bad kid, but he was talented at making Sarah lose her patience.

After they were done with their food, they walked together to Toby's room. To Sarah's surprise, his entire bedroom was decorated in birds, figurines, drawings, posters, and his comforter had two large falcons embroidered on it. There was one type of bird in particular that dominated Toby's room. Owls.

**Chapter 2: The Owl Speaks**

"Oh my god, Toby! You're obsessed with birds now? Weren't you in love with Dragons last time I came here?" Toby walked over to the side of his bed and said, "Umm, Yea but that was before I-"

Toby was interrupted by the sound of the bedroom door slamming open. Walker had apparently let himself in. "The door was unlocked, and I really had to pee, so I came in." He said as he shifted his weight uneasily from leg to leg. "Well, I'll be right back!" he yelled as he darted off to the hallway and slammed the bathroom door.

"Why do you want to go to the park right now, it's near freezing outside?" Sarah said while organizing Toby's desk, on it, was a stuffed barn owl with shiny, piercing eyes, a feeling of uneasiness struck her, as memories resurfaced in her mind. She was awakened from her memories by Toby explaining, "I absolutely positively have to go! I promised him that I would!"

_Him. _

As Sarah led the trio to the park, one boy in each hand. Toby sniffled loudly; the cold weather had taken effect on him. "You're getting sick already?" He nodded, "Then you shouldn't have promised Walker going to the park. We can turn back if you guys want, the house is literally half a block awa-"

"That aint true ma'am!" Toby's friend yelled indignantly, he made a small pout before he continued, "Toby din' promise me nothin'. He promised that stupid owl." _Owl? What the heck was he talking about?_ "I'm ok sis, my nose is just runny, but it's been like that since yesterday. Please can we just go for an hour, pleeaasee?" Toby was an expert at begging his way out of things.

Sarah sat on a bench and read while Toby and his friend played a few yards away with an old Frisbee they had found. Before she knew it, it'd been 3 hours. Suddenly she heard a fluttering sound, almost like feathers. "That's her! That's her!" Toby yelled, with a finger pointing at her. "That's my sister, the one you wanted to see!" He was talking to a white barn owl, which was perched in a dignified manner on a tree branch near the boys. Sarah felt a sudden emptiness in her gut, and her palms became sweaty despite the cold weather. Toby's friend rolled his eyes, and in an annoyed tone said, "Toby, stop pretendin' you can understand that stupid bird. My dad says that animals can't think and they-"

"Shut up!" It was a rare event to witness Toby upset, especially at his friend. "He can understand, and he talks, you can't hear it because doesn't want you to!" his cheeks were red with rage. Sarah had to intervene. She walked over next to Toby and knelt down, in a quiet tone she said "Tobe, don't get so upset, it's getting dark already. Say bye to your owl friend and we'll go back home, ok?" Toby gave her a forced smile and waved at the bird, much to her surprise, it seemed to acknowledge Toby with a nod, and it stared at her intensely. "He says you haven't changed at all." Before Sarah could react to Toby's outrageous statement, she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Bye Sarah, bye Toby, my mom's probably worried by now."

"You don't want me to drop you off at your house?" Sarah asked.

"Nah, I always walk, it aint too far." Before she could insist, Toby's friend had turned and started to walk away from her. They went back home and Toby fell asleep quickly. Sarah had become restless, and she circled her own thoughts. _There's simply no way that-no it was a dream from when I was fifteen, geesh, but, don't owls only come out at night? Sarah snap out of it, don't over analyze everything._ When her parents got home, Sarah hugged them goodbye, and went to Toby's room, she laid a kiss on her little brother's forehead. He looked so peaceful; she put on her coat and scarf, and started on her way back to campus.

**Chapter 3: Hunter and Cassie**

"It's about damn time you came back, Sar." Cassie said biting her lips in concentration while she painted her toenails on Sarah's bed. "You know, Hunter kept bugging me every two hours, asking if I knew when you'd be coming back." Sarah had started dating Hunter 5 months ago after Cassie had introduced them to each other at a party, at first he seemed absolutely perfect, but like any other person that she'd ever gotten involved with, something wasn't quite right. "Did he?" Sarah said with feigned indifference. "Yea and that other guy from the bar, what was his name? Anthony, Arthur, or was it Alex…"

"You mean Andrew?" Cassie smiled, "Yea, that one, well he asked me to tell you if you guys were still up for Margaret's party on Wednesday." Since Sara had turned 16, she'd always had some sort of distraction, to keep her mind away from the past, away from _him_. She didn't really take any of those guys seriously, they'd just been entertainment."Wow, Sar. You don't waste time do you?"

"What do you mean?" As she painted her pinkie toe, Cassie answered, "Well, you haven't even broken up with Hunter and you've already moved on." Sarah became irritated and snapped at her friend. "Listen Cass, I don't judge what you do with your life, and I expect that to be a mutual thing, ok?" That was completely untrue, after what had happened, Sarah became withdrawn and stopped showing up to the drama club's practices, which she had been taking with Cassie, after a few weeks, Cassie began to visit Sarah in her home, and they had quickly become best friends. Despite never telling her exactly what had happened to her and Toby, Cassie always supported her and invited her on trips, it was thanks to Cassie that Sarah was able to visit many beautiful countries during the summer, and it was of Cassie's doing, that Sarah had become herself again.

Cassie had acquired a somber look; she stood up from the bed and looked at Sarah for a while. "I'm not judging you. I never have. I made an honest, straight up comment because I thought we could always be honest with each other." They looked at each other for a long time, Sarah's face softened, "You're right. I'm sorry Cass, I just- I've had a long day, and I don't know what to do about him."

"Andrew? If you want, I can call him and say you're sick or something." Cassie said, sounding like her cheerful self again. "No, I mean Hunter, I've been wanting to end things, but I feel bad, he's been such a dear, I can't bring myself to-"Cassie laughed loudly, "_Such a dear?_ What are you, 80?" they both laughed at Sarah's choice of words, despite the immaturity of the whole situation. "Since how long ago have you wanted to dump him?"

"Umm…4 months…and a half." Sarah said hesitantly, while she twirled a lock of her hair in between her fingers.

"Four months?! Holy cow, Sarah. Is he _that_ good?" Sarah's cheeks reddened and felt warm with embarrassment. "Ugh, you can never take things seriously. Goodnight Cass, I'm gonna take a shower and then I'll go to bed."

"Psh, yea. You do that." Cassie said, with a mischievous smirk.

The following morning Sarah headed to her class, Hunter was waiting for her outside afterwards. He smiled and waved at her, but there was clear frustration in his eyes, the same shade of green as hers. " never called me, I asked Neumann if she knew when you'd come back." Hunter said while trying to sound cheerful and understanding. One of the things Sarah despised about him, was his tendency to call people by their last names."Yea, well, I'm so sorry my phone broke and I didn't get any calls or messages." Much to her benefit, Sarah had forgotten her phone back at the dorm. "Oh, ok. Well I made reservations, in case you were hungry."

"Sure, I'd love to." Hunter smiled and they drove off in his car. For some reason, being in his company felt wrong, almost like she was betraying someone, Sarah wasn't someone to be bothered by guilt, especially when it was for no apparent reason, but something just felt… wrong.

**Chapter 4: Dreadful news and Fishy bargains.**

After her date, Sarah went to the corner store and used a payphone, something she hadn't done since she had gotten her cell phone in 9th grade. _Better call Cassie, and hope she'll turn in my research paper in to Mr. Lieberman_. When her friend picked up, she sounded hysterical, like she had been crying for hours. "Cassie, what's wrong?!"

"Oh Sarah, it's awful, Toby had an accident, Millie-Millie called you-you didn't I mean, you weren't here and I picked up your phone."

Sarah's breathing became frenetic and she tried hard to maintain her composure, though it was extremely difficult due to her strong temper. "Accident? What happened, tell me everything Cass- I just- I should've taken my phone- I should've-"

"He's in St. Augustine's hospital, I don't know exactly what happened Sarah, I'll meet you there."

When she arrived, Sarah spotted Karen, her eyeliner was smudged and her eyes were puffy, her father was pacing in the waiting room. Karen took notice of Sarah and ran to embrace her. "Oh sweetheart! Toby was on his way back from the park, he was with his friend, with Walker, and- Oh Sarah!" Karan wept uncontrollably, "I let them go together, they always do it, the park is so close, I can see it through the living room window, oh Sweetheart, it's all my fault, I should've accompanied them." It was impossible to tell if Karen was referring to her or to her father, she was so distraught by the whole thing, seemed so different from the dainty and composed Karen that she always was. "Is Toby alright?" Her father turned to her sharply and his eyes began to fill with tears. "Sarah, they were riding their bikes together on the sidewalk, on their way back home." Mr. Williams struggled to maintain the little control that was left in him, his voice began to break. "A man- a drunk, swerved in the wrong direction, he…he ran over them." Mr. Williams lost himself in hysterics and sobs, he shouted shamelessly in the hospital. "That drunk, he killed them! He hit them and took off; he left them on pavement to die like road kill, like stray dogs on the sidewalk!"  
Sarah felt a cord snap within her, her throat felt dry, and she couldn't speak, she could see the moving, blurring images around her, yet she couldn't hear, she didn't _want_ to hear. What a strange little scene, Karen's shoulders shaking as she cried, her father being escorted out of the hospital by two guards, and Cassandra staring at the pitiful ordeal with a pained look on her face. Sarah had withdrawn so deeply within herself that she no longer cared, she didn't notice when Cassie dragged her forcefully out of the hospital and drove them back to their dorm, and she didn't hear her own blood curdling shrieks and sobs while her friend comforted her. Nothing made sense, but then again, not many things in her life ever did.

The following morning, Sarah found a pink sticky note on her door which read:

"Sarah, I didn't want to bother you, I'm going to class, and then I'll get us something to eat. Call me if you need anything. – Cassie."

She crumpled it up in her hands and began to cry again. For a moment it seemed as if she had lost her sanity, she cried loudly, without restraints, not caring about anything in the world. Nothing interested her anymore, she didn't care. A strange idea tainted her morbid thoughts, before she could stop herself, Sarah took a deep breath and said," I wish that the Goblin King would come to me…right now."

A few seconds went by, she dug her nails deeply within her thighs as she cried, at the same time she laughed, she laughed bitterly at how pathetically low she had gone to comfort herself. She'd recurred to a childhood fantasy for help, and it sickened her. For the first time, Sarah couldn't find a single reason to carry on; the bond between her brother and her was too strong and pure to be broken so soon. Alone with her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed the warm blood flowing languidly from the many cuts and scratches on her legs, nor did she notice the coppery tang of her cut lips. When she opened her eyes, she noticed someone standing beside her, as her blurry eyes adjusted, she made out the figure. He was standing only a few feet from her, his icy voice broke the silence, "Why did you summon me, Sarah?" She didn't even process the impossibility of the situation and began to talk in between sobs. "It-It's Toby, he's. Dead!" Sarah explained everything, then they both became silent, much to her surprised, he seemed bothered, almost as if he cared. He stroked her hair and let her cry, then said, "My sincere condolences, but that doesn't answer my question." His tone was cold and indifferent again. "Eight years ago you said you had manipulated time for me."

"And so I did."

Sarah began to yell at him, exasperated. "Don't you fucking understand?! I want you to turn back time so that they never would've died!" before he could react to her, she had flung herself to his feet, wrapped her arms around them. She felt the cool leather of his boots against her warm cheeks. This was the last thing he would have ever expected from her. He'd always known her as a strong, ill tempered girl; such deep affliction on her behalf caught him off guard. He gulped, hoping she hadn't heard him and regained his cold hearted façade. He took a step away from the begging girl and began, "I'll do as you've asked." Sarah couldn't utter a single sound from the sheer relief. "Now, I don't know much about customs aboveground, yet I expect you to acknowledge…that one cannot have anything, without giving something in return." The distraught girl hadn't considered anything, and didn't know what to answer. "I have nothing that you would possibly need, nothing you'd even want!" Jareth made a cynical pout and began to pace back and forth through the room for what seemed like an eternity. The sound of his heeled boots against the wooden floor unnerved her. "My dearest Sarah, assuming you'd want to spare both of their lives…do you not?" Sarah began to nod her head frantically, he laughed coldly, "My, such a benevolent lady we have here. For each of their lives, you will give me three years of your own."

"I don't under-"

"It's quite simple really, you have to return with me to the underground for six years, or three if you chose to let one of those precious little boys die. Tell me Sarah, what does it feel like, having their lives in your hands. Do you feel empowered?" he smiled maliciously at her. How dare he, how _dare_ this monster put her in such a situation. "I don't have all day, love. Either you accept or you let them die."

"I'll do it." She answered in a strained tone. When she looked up, she detected the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. "It truly was for the best, dear. Now, I'll give you no more than an hour to gather some things and prepare yourself before we depart..." He was letting her take things. Consideration? Who the hell was she talking to? "I can gather some things? I thought we'd just-"he scoffed in an exaggerated manner, "Sarah, do you really find me to be such a villain?" _Um, yea. _"You'll find your preconceived notions to be very wrong." If he wasn't the villain…who the hell was he?

When there was thirteen minutes remaining until the hour finished, he shot her an expectant glance. "I'm ready. "She said in a barely audible whisper. He then came uncomfortably close to her, to a point to where she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She stammered, "Wha-what are you doing?"

"Unless you too have the ability to transport freely through realms, I have to take you myself." He wrapped a gloved hand around her waist. The solid floor beneath her feet began to disappear, she closed her eyes and felt deep pressure on her body, everything was cold, then back to normal. "You may open your eyes, Sarah." They were in a massive room full of luxurious furniture and flamboyant white fur rugs, plus a chandelier ten times the biggest chandelier she had ever seen before. "I'll escort you to your room."

"My _room_? Jareth, I still have a lot of questions to ask you." He seemed exasperated with her and started to speak in an agitated tone, "I have absolutely no intention of speaking to a girl who is completely dazed. I want you follow me to your room, regain self control, and tomorrow morning I'll clarify things. Have I been perfectly clear?" His eyes examined her reaction. "Yes, I understand."

"I'm glad." Jareth offered her his arm in a chivalrous manner, which she hesitantly accepted. He guided her through an endless sea of hallways until they arrived in a regal looking room with a bed suited for an entire family. Most things including the bed comforter and curtains were of a rich emerald green. "I'll send a servant to fetch your belongings…" Not that there was much to fetch, she had packed her things in a raggedy old leather suitcase, and 2 hefty garbage bags. "you shall call me if you need anything…Goodnight Sarah." He was there a moment, the next he had disappeared, leaving a cold empty spot where he had stood.

"Goodnight, Jareth."

**Chapter 5: Terms and Conditions**

"Wake up, girly!" a high pitched voice yelled at Sarah, and she felt her jeans being pulled down. "What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled and tried to push the old goblin woman away. "Oh girly, nothing I haven't seen before. You're not the first or last girl his majesty has asked me to assist after he was done with her." Sarah felt her face grow hot. "Done with me?! You have it all wrong, I'm just here because-"the old goblin put a bony finger to Sarah's lips. "No need to explain anything to old Raka, I'm just a servant after all. Now! Stop wastin' time will ya' his majesty asked me to bathe you and get ya' nice and pretty for breakfast." Sarah was tugged away by her into a marble lavatory. "You must be his favorite!" Raka squealed in delight as she pointed to a large vase. It had white chrysanthemums, a flower Sarah had favored since childhood. "Raka, I can bathe myself." The old goblin raised a white unkempt eyebrow. "Very well then, but keep his majesty waitin' and it'll be a good lashin' for ya', Lassie!"

After she was done with her bath, Sarah picked out black jeans and an old Nirvana shirt, the last items she had thrown into her suitcase. When Raka opened the door, she stared in disgust at Sarah's attire. The goblin woman led her into a gorgeous dining room where she could've easily fit her old middle school. When Jareth saw her, he stood up from his seat, as gentlemen are expected to. He wore dark brown breeches, a white poet's shirt with a leather vest and his usual boots. "Good morning, Sarah." Around the table were two other fae. A lovely young girl with ashy blonde hair and piercing gray eyes, and next to her, a handsome young man with shoulder length auburn hair and brown eyes.

"Good morning, Sire." Sarah answered, coming to the conclusion that it wasn't acceptable to call him by his first name, especially in public. The two unknown fae had awful poker faces at foreignness of her clothes; even the goblin staff around them had stopped what they were doing to eye her from head to toes. "Sit next to me, as my guest; this is your rightful place." Jareth said, signaling to the empty seat to his right. The gorgeous gray eyed fae had a curious glow about her which Sarah liked. "Good morning, Lady Sarah." The auburn haired man said politely, "My name is Ezra Tsvetai, and this is my sister, Cavalla." Sarah instinctively offered her hand for him to shake; he looked at it hesitantly and laid a kiss on the back of it. Cavalla toyed with her food, finally unable to repress herself said, "Lady Sarah, I'm intrigued with your choice of clothes, they're so different. My brother may not say, but he finds them strange, as well. May I ask if you made them yourself?" Her brother elbowed her, "Cavalla! I've asked you not to make such comments; you've insulted his majesty's guest!" Sarah smiled at the unexpected comment, "Not at all, Ezra. I apologize if my garb is inappropriate or weird to you, I'll change if his majesty finds it necessary." The king stirred within himself, for reasons unknown, the sight of her referring to him by his title pleased him. Jareth maintained a neutral expression, "That won't be necessary; you're not required to dress accordingly to Sir Ezra's liking." The young man's face reddened in embarrassment. During breakfast, Sarah could sense Ezra looking at her from the corner of her eye. Sarah smirked at him, making Ezra aware that he'd obviously been caught staring at her. He smiled back awkwardly and cleared his throat. "So…Lady Sarah…Did you enjoy your…Food?" Sarah felt herself about to burst out laughing at his tragically awkward comment, but Cavalla beat her to it. "Brother! Instead of tossing cover-up comments at the poor vixen, simply apologize for gawking at her so cynically!" Ezra excused himself and left, his face completely flushed. Jareth, who had been observing the entire ordeal didn't seem too amused; his expression was cold and unpleasant. While looking down he said, "Lady Cavalla, will you be as gracious as to retire to your room." The fae girl seemed as surprised as Sarah to hear this. "Of course, your grace." Still not looking at her, Jareth continued. "Now that we're alone, I want to conclude yesterday's conversation." Sarah parted her lips slightly to speak but was harshly interrupted. "Before you ask or comment on anything, you'll let me finish. Understood." This seemed more like a statement than a question. "I successfully went through with my part of the deal. Toby and Walker never did go to the park, therefore never perished during the accident. Since you will be staying here, I've placed a very potent charm over your family and peers, said charm will give the illusion that you are still very present in their lives, of course you'll be a bit distant from them, but you'll be there nonetheless…Now, after you have lived a full two years here, you will have needed you to come to a certain decision. Whether you want to save only one or both children." Once he'd been silent for a few seconds, Sarah asked, "Will I be able to see them throughout my stay?" With a swift maneuver of his wrist, a crystal orb appeared; he placed it in Sarah's palms. "Whenever you feel the need to see anybody, you simply state their name, and it will grant you, for a moment, a bird's eye view of their lives. Please restrain yourself from using it too often, Sarah." She looked up at him, looking confused. He pressed a gloved palm to his temple, "It feeds on my energy Sarah, if you use it incessantly every day, you would've drained a small yet significant portion of it." Sarah smiled and toyed with the crystal in her hands. She looked up, "Thank you so much." With cat like swiftness, he advanced towards her; he'd gotten so close that when she looked up at him, her cupid's bow brushed his oh so slightly, she moved back a single step. "You're Welcome, Sarah."

**Chapter 6: Revelations and Awkward Scenarios**

From underneath the heavy covers, Sarah felt someone shaking her vigorously, hoping to exasperate the old goblin woman into leaving, she pretended to be asleep. She was shocked to hear Jareth's voice. He was sitting next to her. "Wake up, Sarah." She sat up in a quick movement. Feeling exposed in her thigh high shorts and white tank top. To her absolute horror, he removed a leather glove with his teeth and put his bare hand on her thighs, moving swiftly in soft movements. She raised a hand to strike him, but he caught it mid air. "Oh don't flatter yourself, child. I simply wanted to heal your lacerations, yesterday Raka informed me of some dry blood on your legs." Sarah scooted as far away from him as possible, "Don't you have a doctor, some sort of healer? Either way, Jareth, these aren't that bad." He seemed amused at her attempts to avoid contact, "Sarah, you're not in grave danger, when it's something so minor I like to treat the castle's inhabitants myself." Not true, the goblin king rarely concerned himself with such petty matters, a vast majority of the time he would send one of his healers to treat the wounded. "I insist, thanks. But they'll heal on their on." He slipped on his glove again, "As you wish, but I do need you to dress formally today." Sarah rolled her eyes and once again seemed a bit more like the stubborn girl he'd met years ago. "So…let me guess, Raka's picking out my clothes today?" He laughed and stood up from her bed.

"Close guess, but no, Goblins aren't much help with these things, or anything aesthetic for that matter. I've called upon Lady Tsvetai to assist you."

"You arranged a dress up slash play date for me?" Sarah asked, putting her hair in a messy bun. "I assumed you'd be more comfortable with someone you were already acquainted with, she'll arrive at any moment." Jareth snapped his finger and disappeared just in time for her to hear a knock at her door. "Lady Sarah? Are you awake? May I come in?" Instead of answering, Sarah opened the door. "Hello Lady Cavalla, I'm so grateful for your help." The blonde girl was sporting an intricate silver dress with pearls and embroidery. "No need for such formality, you can call me Cavalla, and I'm still confused as to why his majesty asked me for help with this, I'm a complete brute when it comes to these prissy little matters."Sarah was both shocked and amused at her lack of formality. "but I guess I do know a thing or two about dresses. Oh! That reminds me- I've brought a few of my own gowns in hopes of finding one that suits you." With a snap of Cavalla's fingers, 3 gowns appeared, laid upon Sarah's unmade bed. "Now that I think on it, brown wasn't such a wise choice." Cavalla passed her hand over the brown dress and it disappeared, leaving a pale turquoise colored dress and next to it, an elaborate salmon colored dress with beadery. Sarah examined both dresses and asked Cavalla, "If you don't mind my asking, do you know why Jar- his majesty wants me to dress up?"

"I'm not sure if I should say, but I'll assume that you're similar to me as in you absolutely abhorring surprises…His majesty asked me to be your Lady-in-waiting-, so to speak. So my nearest guess is that you, well, _we_, will be attending a private event of some sort."

"What makes you think it's private." Cavalla's gray eyes narrowed, "Sarah, it's the Goblin King we're talking about here. Yes, he is known for his excessively prim manners, but his fits of rage as just as known. Social scenarios just aren't his forte. "Sarah wasn't sure if she was completely shocked or amused.

"Don't misunderstand me Sarah, he's not a barbarian, his etiquette, charm and eloquence are there, always have been. It's just- after his last tantrum, he stopped attending very large events. Unless they ware absolutely crucial, will he attend them." Sarah had begun to place her corset on, the stiff material made her feel trapped.

"Cavalla, can you tell me exactly what happened?" The fae girl began to fasten the laces on Sarah's new garment. "Can I?! Sarah, I was _there_, sitting but a few seats away from his majesty, in the seating area designated for the non-fae aristocracy."

Non-Fae, what on earth was she talking about? She had performed magic right in _front_ of her, she must not be serious.

"Well, Prince Domarath was complimenting his majesty on the Labyrinth's new litter of griffins."

"Griffins?"

"Yes, they aren't born too often, such powerful, long-lived creatures take many years, or even decades of incubation to be born successfully. The birth of one, let alone an _entire_ litter surviving the first week, is seen as a fantastic omen, and beyond a reason to rejoice."

Well, shit. Griffins actually exist.

"And of course, Azeneth, being the embodiment of support and kindness, gave King Jareth a sassy comment that made him-"

"Cav, wait. Who's Azeneth, and what did he tell J-His majesty?" Sarah held her breath as Cavalla laced the front of Sarah's dress tightly. "Sarah, you can call him Jareth if you want, I surely won't tell, and _she_, is his majesty's sister." Before she could restrain herself, Sarah gripped Cavalla's shoulders and began shaking her vigorously. "Sister?! Jareth has a Sister?!" Cavalla grabbed onto Sarah's shoulders and shook her, mocking her playfully. "Yes! And a brother named Domarath and a father and…this may sound outrageous but, a mother as well!" Still not letting go of Sarah, Cavalla continued her explanation. "Azeneth said something along the lines of, 'If your griffins are anything like their king and his labyrinth, you should begin preparing their graves.'"

It dawned upon her, that she had single handedly defeated the Goblin King, and everybody in his world knew about it.

"After that mortal girl, which I'm assuming is you, defeated the labyrinth, Princess Azeneth and others began to question his majesty's ability to reign. Many noblefae challenged him to duels over the rights to the Goblin Kingdom. Of course he prevailed over all of them, and this gave everyone the reassurance they needed to trust him again, but the princess never accepted her brother as king to begin with." All the sudden information confused Sarah, rather than clearing anything up. "Either way, during the course of the ball, Princess Azeneth continuously made dark comments; she even insinuated in front of everybody that his majesty had let the mortal girl win! If anybody but the Princess had said such a thing it would've been considered heresy! Oh Sarah, none at that table would've expected what came next. King Jareth the Princess Azeneth broke out into a full fledged duel!"

The chamber door slammed open, much to the girls' misfortune, the circumstances weren't very proper. Both girls were embracing each other, Sarah looked unkempt. Her face completely flushed in a rosy hue and her hair was tousled. Cavalla's face was but a few centimeters from Sarah's, and her lips were slightly parted. Both of them realized the idea they must've given him, blushing the deepest shade of red possible. Had the roles been reversed, Sarah would've laughed; she thought that nothing could've been worse than what she'd done a few days before. Begging at his feet for help, smeared eyeliner and all. Looking like a depressed raccoon on crack, but apparently being caught in a seemingly lesbo situation with your lady in waiting had beat crying by a long shot. "Y-Your majesty!" Cavalla stammered, pushing Sarah away from her so roughly, that Sarah had fallen on the bed. "I was- I was helping Sarah with her underclothes…" _You're just digging the whole deeper, Cav._ Jareth looked at them for a moment, cleared his throat, and with the greatest poker face in the history of the universe began, "Yes, I'm aware. It was I who summoned you, Lady Tsvetai, though I do require a private word with Sarah." Cavalla bowed to them and disappeared in a nebulous mass of shimmer. Jareth's eyes fell upon Sarah's. "As for you, I expected you to groom yourself and to act your age. You'll be my escort, and I won't be dulled by your-" His tone was unusually cruel.

"Dulled? Well excuse me, but being your date and accompanying your royal ass to parties wasn't part of our deal! And just in case you haven't noticed, I was in the middle of _grooming_ myself, when you decided to pop in!" He put his hand over her mouth. "You have a tendency to forget who you're talking to; you as much as raise your voice to me again and you'll face the consequences. And it's strange that you mention that, love. When I _popped in_, as you put it, grooming yourself was clearly that last thing on your mind." A smug smile formed on his lips. "What?! You think I was seducing her?! You can't be serious; you're the one that called her in the first place! How can you even think that?"

"Sarah, you're a grown woman, you don't have to feign innocence, then again, after your little spectacle with Master Ezra this shouldn't come as a surprise to me, should it?" she hadn't been given enough time to give a sarcastic comment. "So do tell me, Sarah. Do you usually flaunt yourself to everybody, regardless of their gender or species?" Sarah crossed her arms and struggled hard not to tacke the fuck our of the smug piece of- "What spectacle, we barely even spoke to each other."

"You're not fooling anybody but yourself, dear. Such coqettery , the exchanged wanting glances, you basically forced the poor lad to kiss your hand." Holy ship, was he jealous? The Goblin King disappeared in a manner very similar to Cavalla, and left her standing alone in the middle of the room. He had left her confused, enfuriated…and flattered.


	2. Chapter 7: The King's Garden

**(a relatively short one, sorry for the last 6 chapters being bunched together into one, I'm so new to this site, it still seems weird to break it up into little chapters. Thank you so much, I only have 2 comments but they meant the world to me, just knowing that I didn't wither myself away at my laptop for nothing. Thank you so much. I'll keep the chapters coming! Critique is greatly appreciated.)**

**Chapter 7: The King's Garden**

Sarah stood infront of her vanity, somewhat satisfied with her makeup and hair, fastened a thin leather choker from her rebellious phase. From the reflection, she noticed Jareth standing a few feet behind her. He cleared his throat to notify her of his presence. "Yes, I suppose this will do." He looked her over indiferently, faking boredom. In reality, he was fighting the impusle to take her , right then and there, on her chamber floor. With one last half-hearted glance he offered his hand to her.

"Are you coming?" Yea, like a have a choice.

Instantly as their hands came into contact, it seemed to her as if time itself had been altered. Everything around them became a nauseatingly sublime blur of colors. A heavy, freezing pressure restrained Sarah. It was over as soon as it had started. She was standing with him in the middle of a garden, flooded with a wide array of flowers, the overwhelmingly relaxing floral scent delighted all of her senses. "This is one of the many gardens within the grounds of my father's kingdom. I enjoyed being here as a child, and wanted you to see this." It was now Sarah's turn to put on a mask of indifference.

"Your father's kingdom…is that why you wanted me to get dressed up, so you're father could know that I'm here?"

"He already knows of your presence in the underground, the High detect can detect any movement. He just wanted to meet you personally." She smiled boldly. You'd have to either be a self-centered asshole, or be dead, to not get visably happy at a King requesting to meet you personally. Still soaking in self confidence, she blurted out.

"What about your brother and sister?" _Good fucking job, Sar. now he'll know you were digiging for information on him with Cavalla. Dumbshit. _

"They're anxious to meet you as well." still holding on to his arm, she let her eyes wander through the splendor of the garden. "Why are they anxious to meet me? They don't even know me." Jareth took her hands within his own, his mismatched eyes met her. "It's not common, it's actually unheard of, that anybody, let alone a mortal can manage to defeat the labyrinth."

He appeared lost in his own thoughts.

For eight tedious years, he tolerated cheek from the obnoxious aristocracy and common fae, and the many poisonous gossip within his kingdom. Between themselves, his subjects muttered, wondering if their king had in fact let the mortal girl win. Many swore loyalty to him and refused to believe accusations, but many others were certain of the king's contribution to her success…and they were right.

During Sarah's last stay, he had, in a way, filtered the labyirinth for her. Providing the illusion of Hoggle, Sir Diddymus and Ludo, to purposely distract her from the greater dangers within, and to aid her in solving it. He, the Goblin king, had yielded to a capricous girl. Without her knowing, he had protected her throughour her journey, he wasn't willing to let her perish like the countless others who lost their sanity, who lost their lives within the lethal Labyrinth. Had she met the time limit or not, he was willing to let her win, for there was a ray of hope, deep within him, that she would willingly have chosen to stay at his side.

"We've wasted far too much time. Let us go to the banquet." She braced herself for the third transportation. This time she held on to his waist. He smiled at her unexpected advances. And they dissapeared.


End file.
